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Monday, February 4, 2019

I got a text message from a friend recently. She shared that a mutual friend, who is only a little older than myself, has suddenly passed away. Though I had not talked to him in a few years, when I lived in Vermont he was a great colleague in ministry. Less than 24 hours later one of my pastor friends sent me a text to say one of their youth workers, a really fine young man with a promising future, had also unexpectantly passed away that morning. So much loss. So much pain. Such a short time to process it. Many of my circle of friends were struggling with why God lets these things happen. One mused that perhaps there was no point in following Christ if we still have to endure such pain.

In such difficult moments of life, we must remember that there will always be pain and hurt in the world. Those who have no faith must endure the same pain as everyone else, but without the help of God. Therefore, removing God from the picture only makes the situation worse. As a nation, and as individuals, we must stop trying to eliminate pain by eliminating God.

That does not keep us from asking ourselves why God doesn't just stop all the pain? Clearly He has the power to. We understand theologically that He is sovereign in all things. But in His sovereignty, God has chosen to us give free will to make our own choices. Sometimes we use that free will to make choices that cause us, or those around us, pain. Other times other people make bad choices and cause us pain. Sometimes pain just happens for reasons we do not understand because we lived in a messed up unfair fallen world that is stained by sin.

It is tempting to ask God let us keep our free will while also asking Him to limit the free will of others, so they can’t hurt us. But deep inside we know that is not really the way it works. We can't have it both ways.

The answer to our pain problem is a deep and personal relationship with Jesus Christ. He helps us overcome the pain of our own mistakes and gives us strength to overcome the pain of the mistakes of others. Removing Him from our lives is the exact opposite of the answer we are looking for. Delve deep into Him today and let Him help you overcome the pain this world throws at us!

Friday, February 1, 2019

The middle aged minister expressed deep frustration as he poured out his heart to me. He had started his ministry full of energy and excitement a decade ago. Though the numbers were small when he started, he was sure that his faithful preaching of the Word and his clear strategic plan would turn the situation around. That was a decade ago. Now the numbers were even smaller, his excitement was long gone, and the financial situation, which had never been good, was now perilous. He was not sure how long he could continue in his present ministry, but he was not a quitter, so he didn’t really want to leave either. He was in a quandary.

I encounter some version of this scenario numerous times each year from pastors, church planters, Directors of Missions and other ministry leaders across New England. In these situations, I ask a lot of questions. I try to listen, not only to what is being said, but to what is being left out. Though the person I am meeting with is often hoping I have a quick and easy solution, so far that has never been the case. It took that leader awhile to get to that level of discouragement, and it will take a while to get out of it.

In these situations, typically either I, or someone on my team, will also speak to other leaders in that ministry to see how their perception is similar, or perhaps different, than the primary leader’s. It is interesting to hear what they have to say. Most often, they agree that he is a faithful preacher of the Word. Only on very rare occasions does theology seem to be the problem. What is often expressed is that he is a “dry” speaker or his sermons lack “practical application.” I am actually relieved to hear answers like that, because they are the easiest to address. While there are many people who will never be stellar speakers, everyone can improve in their presentation style. For willing leaders, there are numerous workshops and techniques to address this. When someone tells you your sermons or Bible teaching is dry, REJOICE, because that is something you can and should fix!

What is much more challenging is when the primary leader’s ideas are just wrong. Not theologically, but methodologically. One leader told me the “real way to grow a church is door to door visitation.” His once rural church now sits in the middle of half a dozen gated communities that had sprawled out to his area. He couldn’t even get inside those communities to go door to door if he wanted to. Yet he was insistent that was the only way his church could grow. Since he no longer had access to this system of growth, his church was in decline. Another leader was convinced that the “public reading of scripture” was the most important part of the worship service. And so he would read a chapter, sometimes two, each week at the beginning of the service. Those scriptures had nothing to do with his sermon, or the season of the year, or have any other connection to the service. They were just randomly selected scriptures that he read at the beginning of the service each week. He couldn’t understand why many in his congregation would show up 15 minutes late every week and that his members rarely brought friends to church. His system just did not work. Another leader was convinced that “outsiders” should not be in leadership because “they did not understand the context of the local culture” even though the leader saying that was also an outsider. His insistence on only local people could lead caused many highly qualified Christians who were moving to his area from other parts of the nation to move on to other ministries instead of serving in his. As a result, his own ministry eventually died out.

I could give dozens of other examples. Sadly, these types of wrong ideas prevail in many churches and ministries. Let’s all be honest and just admit that sometimes we are wrong. Sometimes our plans do not work and instead of being stubborn, we need to change the plan in order to move forward. We must not let pride or ego hold us back from change when change is needed. We must be willing to move forward and embrace change when it is needed. Fortunately, we have the Holy Spirit to guide us in that. Let us heed the words of James 1:5 “Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives to all generously and without criticizing, and it will be given to him.” The Lord is happy to give us the wisdom to things differently so that our strategies can actually work for the Kingdom instead of against them.

Lord, reveal to us wrong motives or ideas so that we can repent of them and get back to serving You faithfully. Amen.

Tuesday, January 8, 2019

Not long ago my wife and I took our grandchildren to an amusement park in New Hampshire. We had a great time. Without question, our granddaughter’s favorite ride was the log ride. She had this love/hate feeling going on about the steep drop into the water where she got all wet. She said “I loved it, expect the part I didn’t like very much.” Whether you are 4 or 40, such rides can be a lot of fun. Perhaps they are so much fun because they scare us, even though deep inside we know we are safe. It is almost like seeing just how far we can go into danger, without actually getting hurt. For most of us, that is actually a caricature of our lives.

We like to live on the edge, seeing just how far we can go before getting in trouble. That desire to embrace danger while denying the potential for hurt is actually part of our fallen sinful nature. No, I’m not saying amusement parks are sinful. I’m saying that tendency to see how close we can get to trouble - without actually paying the price for it - comes from our sinful nature.

While rides at an amusement park might be safe, even if they scare us, when we toy with sin and live dangerously close to sinful life choices, there is no way to keep hurt and pain from finally impacting us.

The ugly truth is that sin destroys us. While our sinful nature wants to live on the edge, hoping the thrill will outweigh the cost, it never works out that way. Sin always takes us farther than we wanted to go, keeps us longer than we wanted to stay and costs us far more than we thought we would have to pay. We must determine to live holy lives and not get caught up in sin.

Lord, help us keep our hearts turned to You so that the wiles of the world do not lure us into harm’s way. Amen.

Dr. Terry W. Dorsett serves at the executive director of the Baptist Convention of New England.

Saturday, January 5, 2019

“When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions,” Colossians 2:13

Last Sunday my wife and I were out for an afternoon drive. We were enjoying the fall foliage when we happened upon a lovely scene near a campground. At the entrance to the campground there was a river that emptied into a pond, a lovely covered bridge, and several historical items on display. But what caught our eye the most was the lovely mannequin of an old man fishing. It was meticulously set up beside the covered bridge and looked like it had been there many years. We pulled into the small parking lot and took in the whole scene. It was amazing.

And then we got a shock that took our breath away. The mannequin moved! Suddenly we realized it was not a mannequin after all, but a real, live elderly gentleman who was actually fishing beside the bridge. He had been standing so still, and looked so poised in the scene, that we didn’t even realize he was alive!

I wonder how many churches are viewed by their community just like we viewed that old man? Churches often are in central locations in town, with meticulous buildings and stately lawns. But perhaps it has been so many years since the community has seen any real movement, any meaningful activity, that if the church actually did something, it would be a shock to anyone watching.

We may appear to our community to be dead as a church. If that is the case, then we need the Lord to make us alive again through His Spirit. The community should not be shocked when our church actually does something good.

Lord, help us to find life in You and be active in serving You. May the life within us be evident to all who are watching us. Amen.

Dr. Terry W. Dorsett serves at the executive director of the Baptist Convention of New England.

Tuesday, November 20, 2018

On November 20, 1850, a blind Fanny Crosby underwent a dramatic spiritual conversion at age 30. After attending a series of revival meetings she responded to an invitation to pray at the altar. While kneeling at the altar the congregation began to sing "Alas and did my Savior bleed." The words struck deep into Crosby's soul. The Holy Spirit captured her heart and she was never the same again.

Fifteen years later, she began writing her first hymns. Eventually she wrote the words to over 8,000 hymns. She often used fake names to publish her hymns, for fear of becoming prideful. Many of her hymns remain popular today, including "Rescue the Perishing," "Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross," "All the Way My Savior Leads Me" and "Tell Me the Story of Jesus."

She was saved at 30, started writing hymns at 45, and ended up authoring over 8,000 hymns that continue to impact millions of people around the world. What a testimony!

So, if you didn't grow up in a Christian home and got saved later in life, or you were a Christian when you were young but did not get called to ministry until later in life, or you are facing some type of physical disability but fervently love Jesus, don't despair, God can use you to do great things. Give yourself fully to Him and watch what He can do.

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Dr. Terry W. Dorsett has been a pastor, church planter, denominational leader and author in New England for more than 20 years. He is a happy husband, a proud father and adoring grandfather. He is a cancer survivor and believes that God works powerfully through times of suffering. He writes extensively and you can find all of his books at:

Tuesday, September 11, 2018

He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. - 2 Corinthians 9:10

Multiplication. It is a powerful word. It speaks of significant growth, not just incremental growth. In a spiritual sense, multiplication comes from God. The Holy Spirit can do more in a moment than human effort can achieve in a lifetime. Only the Holy Spirit can bring a harvest of righteousness.

When applied to our material possessions, multiplication has only one purpose, that we might give more of our wealth so that we can join God in increasing the harvest of righteousness, seeing more people come into the Kingdom. I think this is why so many Christians struggle financially. They view their possessions as their own. Even Christians who tithe often think of the 90% they keep as their own. But that is not why God gives us material wealth.

God gives us wealth so that we might use it to grow His Kingdom. If we could rethink our attitude and viewpoints regarding our wealth, we may discover that God gives us more to give away for His glory. How do you view what God has given you?----------

Dr. Terry W. Dorsett serves at the Executive Director of the Baptist Convention of New England. He has been a pastor, church planter, denominational leader and author in New England for more than 20 years. He is a happy husband, a proud father and adoring grandfather. He is a cancer survivor and believes that God works powerfully through times of suffering. He writes extensively and you can find all of his books at:

Tuesday, September 4, 2018

In my ministry role I often assist pastors and churches trying to revision what the future might be for their ministry. Often they find themselves in a challenging moment and they know they cannot continue with the status quo. They know they need a fresh vision to take them to a new level of ministry. They often have an idea of what that vision should be but need help articulating it in a way that people can rally around.I also get to work with a lot of new churches. These new churches are in a unique position where they get to craft a brand new vision instead of trying to rediscover or revitalize an old one.Both scenarios are very exciting to me and it is fulfilling to watch a vision emerge from a group of people united in faith and service to Christ. Many churches, whether new or old, choose to express that vision with some catchy mission or vision statement that encapsulates all they are trying to express in some succinct way.Normally these statements are catchy and creative, worthy of being on a bumper sticker or a twitter post. But I must confess, there are times when I find mission statements less helpful than they should be. For mission statements to be helpful, they have to actually express the real mission of the church. They can’t just be lofty theological statements that sound good to theologians but mean nothing to the community. It has to be a statement the typical person in the community who has not been to seminary and might not be particularly religious will understand. For example, recently I saw one that said "to the glory of God and for the advancement of his kingdom we will take the gospel to every corner of the earth." To a seminary student that actually sounds like a wonderful mission statement. But to the average person on the street who is not quite sure what the glory of God is or what the advancement of His kingdom means, it is just a bunch of nonsense words. Even to a long term Christian who understands what the words mean, there is a real question about whether this church can really take the gospel to the farthest corners of the world. If they are like most churches, they are probably thinking more about how they can solve hunger right in their own community or address homelessness in their own community, rather than around the world. I’m not saying that a church should not have a huge world wide vision. I’m just saying that an effective mission/vision statement has to be something the people in the community can grab hold of. Unless your community is an international community that thinks about the whole world, a world wide vision might communicate far less effectively than you think.If you are going to craft an authentic mission statements, start with an examination of stuff your church has actually done frequently in the last six months. Then look at how your church spends it money. Those two things will reveal your REAL mission. If you real mission is not what it should be, a catchy phrase of what you wish it would be won't change much. You will have to go deeper and change your real values before you can create an authentic mission statement. That may take longer than you want it to, but it will be a better statement in the end, one you will actually work toward achieving.

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Dr. Terry W. Dorsett serves at the Executive Director of the Baptist Convention of New England. He has been a pastor, church planter, denominational leader and author in New England for more than 20 years. He is a happy husband, a proud father and adoring grandfather. He is a cancer survivor and believes that God works powerfully through times of suffering. He writes extensively and you can find all of his books at: